First look at Nickelodeon’s upcoming Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

There have been quite a few different iterations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the last three decades and to this day the 1987 Ninja Turtles cartoon will always be my favorite.

Nickelodeon will air Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a brand-new animated series this Fall. In anticipation of the new series, Nick held a special livestream on Friday which included a few special guests including Kevin Eastman and unveiled the new character art for some of the cast which according to the press release “re-imagines the characters in a fresh new way.”

In this new series, it seems they decided to differentiate each one of the iconic turtles by making them a different species of turtles. Raphael is a snapping turtle, wielding twin Tonfas; Leonardo is a red-eared slider, wielding an ōdachi sword; Donatello a soft shell turtle, using a high tech-bo staff; and Michelangelo a box shell turtle, whose iconic nunchaku have been removed in place of a kusari-fundo (chain with a weight on the end).

It’s not only the turtles who have gone through some changes but Master Splinter who has seen his fair share of character designs over the last three decades looks a lot more like a sewer rat than ever. Even April O’ Neal is getting a new look as Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will portray her as an African-American character for the first time.

Voice talents for the series include: Omar Miller (8 Mile and Ballers) as Raphael, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation and DuckTales) as Leonardo, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) as Donatello, Brandon Mychal Smith (Get On Up) as Michelangelo, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as April O’Neil, and Eric Bauza who has done various voices in the TMNT series will take on the role of Master Splinter.

Let us know what you think of the new designs for the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?